Jurassic World: The Animated Series
JW001
First Iteration.
Owen Grady's Cabin, Northern California Wilderness
Claire Dearing sat at the edge of the small dock staring at her phone. The tiny dock was attached to a lake behind the large cabin that was Owen Grady's home. The former ex-SEAL had spent a year and a half building the cabin out in the middle of nowhere in northern California and it had paid off. The cabin was beautiful, right at the edge of pristine wilderness and a small lake, which Claire was now staring out at.
She sucked in a deep breath. This was not what she had ever expected from her life. When she was young and idealistic, she hoped to be a U.S. Senator, advocating animal rights from the inside. She'd landed a prestigious internship at Jurassic World, less than a year before it had opened, and from that point in time, she had worked hard and climbed the ladder. By 2010 she was the Operations manager for the whole park. From the day her internship started, she barely ever left Isla Nublar until that fateful day three and a half years ago, when the Indominus Rex escaped.
Over a decade of her life had been on Isla Nublar, with the dinosaurs. Isla Nublar was no more…but the dinosaurs…
She shook her head and glanced down at the picture on her phone. It was a curly-haired young man with glasses, his arm around a 19-year old Claire. The old Claire.
No this was not what Claire Dearing expected from her life, but she was happy. Well and truly happy out here in the wilderness with Owen and Maisie. Claire hadn't felt so at peace, hadn't felt like she belonged anywhere since Isla Nublar.
It almost felt like a betrayal.
"I can't believe it's been fifteen years, Justin," she said to the picture on her phone. She still remembered it like it was yesterday.
"Hey there you are," Owen said walking up the dock towards her. Claire closed the photo album on her phone and turned to face her boyfriend.
"Hey you," she said affectionately.
"You okay?" Owen said, frowning. "Have you been crying?"
Claire blinked and then hurriedly wiped her face on her sleeve.
"I'm fine, really," she said.
Owen looked unconvinced, but decided not to press the issue. He nervously fidgeted with something in his pocket.
"I was wondering," Owen said. "You and Maisie have been living with me for six months, and…I know I'm not exactly the easiest guy to get along with."
Claire snorted.
"Choosing to ignore that," Owen said. "I also know that, we've never actually defined our relationship after the Lockwood manor, we just sort of fell into a groove…"
Claire raised an eyebrow. "I think it's pretty obvious how I feel about you, Owen."
"Yeah," Owen said. "I hope you know how I feel too…so I was wondering…"
Owen knelt down on one knee and pulled a small box out of his pocket. Panic began flowing through Claire. No, he isn't. Not today…Seriously?
"Claire Dearing, will you marry me?" Owen asked.
"I…I'm sorry, Owen," Claire said. "I can't deal with this today!"
She bolted back to the house, leaving a very confused Owen Grady still kneeling on the docks.
"Okay," Owen said frowning. "Not exactly the response I was hoping for…"
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Owen headed into the nearby woods, going for a walk to clear his head. Claire's response had confused him more than anything else. As they had said, they were both certain of their feelings for the other…He didn't understand what had gone wrong.
Maybe Claire feared commitment? But that didn't strike Owen as quite right. Yeah she didn't like to leave herself vulnerable, definitely. He knew that about her, but they were already past that phase.
The more he thought about it, the more confused he felt. But he knew that he'd drive himself crazy if he kept mentally picking at it.
"Gotcha!" Maisie yelped, jumping out from behind a tree.
A startled Owen actually tumbled backwards, and the young girl giggled at the sight, before holding out her hand to help her adoptive father back up.
"I definitely gotcha that time, Owen," she said.
"Yeah, you did kid," Owen replied, as he clambered to his feet. "I'm actually pretty impressed. I'm not the easiest guy to sneak up on."
"I know," Maisie said smiling. "That's why I was extra sneaky. Did Claire say yes?"
Owen swallowed.
"Bugger," Maisie said, reading him like a book.
"Hey, kid," Owen said. "Language. If you couldn't get away with that with Iris or your grandfather, than you sure as heck can't get away with it from me."
"But I was so certain she was going to say yes," Maisie said, frowning, completely ignoring Owen's parental warning. "You guys are practically already married anyway."
"Look," Owen said shrugging. "She didn't say 'yes', but she didn't say 'no' either. Either way, just gotta respect that whatever she wants, she's gonna let us know."
"That's good advice," Maisie said. "Maybe you ought to take it."
"You're pretty manip-," Owen froze, as did Maisie. They'd both heard the rustling in the nearby bushes.
Owen quietly, but carefully stepped between the sound of the rustling and Maisie. An instinctive, defensive motion.
"Maisie," Owen said quietly. "Move towards the house. Slowly."
"Is it a bear?" Maisie whispered.
"I don't think so," Owen said, shaking his head, and staying between Maisie and the bushes. He reached around behind his back and pulled out his bowie knife.
"A dinosaur?" Maisie whispered.
Some of the escaped dinosaurs had been spotted quite far from the Lockwood Manor even a week later. Their natural migratory instincts taking them far. Pteranodons in Las Vegas, Allosaurs in Palo Alto. And even an Apatosaurus just outside Seattle. Far further north than Owen's Cabin. Authorities were still trying to sort out how many species had been brought back from Nublar, how many had been sold, and how many had escaped. Made about a hundred times harder by the fact that Mills had wiped his computers clean before he attempted to escape. (And found himself right on Rexy's hunting path.)
Owen nodded. He wasn't certain what type it was, but the way that those sounds moved indicated a two-legged gait. Two legs usually mean therapod, and only one known family of therapod was herbivores.
Masrani and In-Gen hadn't cloned any Therizinasaurs.
"Run," Owen said. "Run back into the house. If Claire's outside get her inside. Tell her to grab the rifle from the gun cabinet."
Claire was a better shot than Owen was. He'd learned that to his own surprise when he took her shooting early on while they were dating. Her father was an avid—responsible—hunter, though Claire herself lacked the stomach for hunting. But she'd learned from her dad how to shoot, and as it turned out, she was a crack shot.
Maisie bolted towards the house while Owen stood his ground. The young British girl shot out of the forest and almost slammed into Claire.
"Maisie have you seen-," Claire started to say.
"Dinosaur," Maisie whispered. Claire grabbed the young girl in her arms and began running back towards the cabin.
"Wait, girls!" Owen said. Claire slowed to a stop and turned around.
"It's not dangerous," Owen said. "Unless you whistle."
To prove his point he let out a sharp whistle, then dove to the side. Instantly a young pachycephalosaur with a ring of spikes around it's neck shot out of the woods and slammed into the tree that Owen had been standing next to seconds before.
"Styggy?" Claire said, letting Maisie down and staring at the juvenile pachycephalosaur—A Stygimoloch—that had wandered out of the forest.
"I think she followed us," Owen said.
"Why?" Maisie asked. Claire had quietly made her way over to the garden she'd planted outside the cabin when they first arrived out here.
"Sometime when animals are exposed to new stimuli, new environments, they get nervous, and seek out something familiar," Owen said, instantly switching to animal behaviorist mode. "Anything familiar that could comfort them. Styggy might be an orphan. Her momma might have been left behind on Nublar. But Claire and I are familiar. We're humans she's met before, both on Nublar, back in the days of the park, and at the Lockwood Manor. She followed us because we were familiar."
"She's an orphan like me?" Maisie said. Claire handed Maisie a carrot that she'd yanked out of the garden. "Can we keep her? Can we be her new family?"
Claire and Owen exchanged a glance.
"Absolutely not," Claire said
"I don't see why not?" Owen said at the same time.
They both winced, realizing that they weren't on the same page at all.
Maisie held out the carrot and Styggy sniffed curiously, trotting over and cautiously examining the human girl. Styggy snapped and yanked the carrot out of Maisie's hand and gobbled it down. She let out an excited squeak and began nudging Maisie over and over again. Claire handed Maisie a second carrot.
Styggy was overjoyed.
Claire sighed heavily.
"You two need to stop ganging up on me. Fine, she can stay. But she can't come in the house."
"I'll build her a winter shed," Owen started to say more, but stopped. There was a car coming down the long drive towards Owen's house.
"Maisie," Owen said, his defensive stance returning. "Take Styggy behind the house. There are more carrots and potatoes in the back garden. Don't let her know exactly where they are or we won't have any next fall…and don't let either of you be seen."
Maisie nodded. This had been the drill several times when people had come down the dirt driveway to Owen's cabin. Don't be seen. And now with a dinosaur, don't be seen had taken on a whole new life of it's own.
"It's a government car," Owen said, switching from animal behaviorist to Navy SEAL mode in a heartbeat. Claire nodded, and took up a stance next to Owen. She'd learned back at Jurassic World that appearances dictated how people reacted to you. Standing next to Owen, they were trying to show a unified front, to intimidate whoever was paying them a visit.
The door of the black sedan opened and a tall, imposing bald man with dark skin stepped out. He wore a suit and tie, as well as sunglasses.
"Mr. Grady," he said. "Miss Dearing. Might I have a moment of your time?"
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Le Bête Interdite, Southern California
Zia Rodriguez and Franklin Webb slipped into the kitchen of the 'Upscale' French restaurant.
A Baryonyx snarled at them from the large cage on the far end of the industrial kitchen.
"I knew it!" Zia snapped angrily. "Those a—"
"Oh God,' Franklin moaned. "She remembers me. I'm the snack that got away!"
"Quit being such a big baby, Franklin and help me set her free!" Zia snapped back.
The duo darted over to the cage on the far end. The agitated dinosaur snapped again in protest as Franklin plugged his tablet computer into the electronic lock on the cage.
Suddenly a posh British accent could be heart outside the kitchen.
"No! The endangered mushroom risotto is the side dish,' the angry sounding chef said, storming into the kitchen.
Zia and Franklin immediately ducked down below the counter. The angry chef took no notice of their presence.
"I promise you," he said. "This week's main course will be well worth your time Mr. Doniger. It will be something that no one has ever eaten before!"
The Baryonyx snarled again.
"What a tool," Zia hissed under her breath. "Have you got that thing unlocked yet?"
"It's not like the movies," Franklin said, clearly frustrated. "I can't just type random letters into the code and make it unlock. Just be patient."
"He's going to cook her!" Zia replied with a loud angry whisper.
"Hey!" the angry chef yelled. "What are you two doing back there?"
"Crap," Zia said as she and Franklin leapt to their feet. Franklin held the tablet up so that Zia could see. The image of a padlock unhitching appeared and Zia smirked.
"How dare you!" she demanded. "This is a dinosaur, not your dinner! Why don't you just get steaks like everyone else?"
"Because my clients pay me millions," he snippily replied. "For a main course that they can't get anywhere else."
"Dude," Franklin said as Zia grabbed the door of the cage. "Now you're the main course."
The door swung open and Zia and Franklin made sure to stand behind it as the Baryonyx stepped out of the cage, and snarled angrily in the direction of the angry chef.
Said chef had bolted towards the back exit.
"Idiot," Zia said, rolling her eyes. Running away and acting like prey was the best way to convince an animal that you were prey. The Baryonyx tracked the chef's movements and then began chasing after him, clambering up on top of the counters and following him to the back exit. He slammed the door shut behind him. The Baryonyx took this in stride, and simply barreled through the door, knocking it down.
The crocodile-like dinosaur exited Le Bête Interdite and let out a roar of excitement as it saw the nearby river. It barreled down towards the river; Zia could see the chef still ahead of the dinosaur, taking a running leap into the river. She snorted in amusement before turning towards Franklin and giving him a high five.
"Nice timing on that lock," Zia said, helping Franklin grab his equipment.
"Thank you," he responded. "I do try."
The two twenty-somethings bolted out the door, heading through the dining room, so as not to cross paths with the recently freed Baryonyx, only to suddenly find themselves surrounded by a dozen police officers and SWAT Teams.
The two of them groaned.
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Owen Grady's Cabin, Northern California Wilderness
"I'll cut to the chase, Mr. Grady," the man said. "My name is Critchton Mitchell. I work for the EPA. "
"EPA? Really?" Owen cocked an eyebrow. "I'd have pegged you for CIA or NSA, personally."
"My appointment to the EPA was a recent development," he said, narrowing his eyes at Owen and Claire.
"Given the situation, dozens if not more invasive prehistoric animal species are now running wild throughout California," Mitchell said. "My bosses wanted unconventional solutions to what is, frankly, an insane situation."
"I don't see what that has to do with us," Owen said frowning.
"Don't insult my intelligence by playing dumb, Mr. Grady," Mitchell said. "We know that you and Miss Dearing were declared dead by Mr. Mills upon his return from Isla Nublar. You're obviously not dead. We know that you had to choose between letting those animals die a horrible painful death, or letting them live. If I'm being honest with myself, I'd have made the same decision."
Owen started to say something but Mitchell cut him off.
"I've seen enough death in my line of work, and I refuse to let it happen if I can," Mitchell. "I know that when you left Lockwood Manor, you spirited away Mr. Lockwood's granddaughter. A granddaughter, who I might add, has no birth certificate, no dental or medical records of any kind. Who for all intents and purposes doesn't exist, Mr. Grady I see you reaching for your knife, and you might even take me down…"
Mitchell smirked.
"But it won't stop others from coming and questioning you. And I don't want to be your enemy. I want to help you. If you'll help me?"
Owen paused and glanced at Claire. She nodded. Mitchell took that as an invitation.
"The two of you, as an animal behaviorist who trains dinosaurs, and the former head of operations at Jurassic World, are in a unique position," he said. "You know more about these animals than any other living person on the planet. Your expertise would be invaluable to mitigating loss of life—both human and dinosaur—in the future. Operation Chaos Control would fold Miss Dearing's activist group, the DPG into the EPA, and we would use your skills and talents to save lives. Human and Dinosaur."
Owen and Claire glanced at each other.
"In exchange, we would make it possible for you to adopt young mistress Lockwood, and we wouldn't question her…existence…"
Both Owen and Claire recognized a certain level of threat in Mitchell's voice. Claire clenched her fists, while Owen considered pulling his knife again, before pausing and noticing a shape darting behind the tree line. It was fast. Fear gripped Owen. The Stygimoloch had gotten back to the forest. If Mitchell saw it…
"Miss Dearing would lead the team," Mitchell continued. "Mr. Grady would be in charge of field operations. You would capture, contain, and control the loose dinosaurs. By any means necessary."
Mitchell looked ready to say more, but his cell phones began ringing.
"Excuse me, I have to take this," Mitchell said, stepping back to his car.
"Family meeting," Claire said, grabbing Owen's arm and dragging him behind the house, where Maisie was sitting by the picnic table, casually feeding Styggy potatoes from the garden.
"I think you should do it," Maisie said, before either of them could say anything. "You'll never have a better chance to save the dinosaurs. If he doesn't get you guys, then the next person that they attempt to hire might be a little more willing to…kill the dinosaurs."
"Which we still might have to do," Owen said, frowning.
"But you'd make it the last resort," Maisie said, she looked up at him with those bright eyes, pleading. "Plus…I'd like it if I was adopted…For real."
Owen and Claire both let out a heavy sigh.
"We are such pushovers," Owen said.
"Karen was right," Claire said shaking her head. "Having a kid takes away any ability to make rational decisions."
"I take it that means you're in?" Mitchell asked, causing Claire and Owen to jump.
"Conditionally," Owen said.
"We pick the team," Claire said.
"Pick them now," Mitchell said. "Because we have a situation that needs immediate attention. Whoever you want, I'll make sure that they're there to greet us in San Huelva."
"San Huelva?" Owen asked.
"Right now?" Claire demanded.
"Yes," Mitchell said grimly. "A Tyrannosaurus rex has just broken into the San Huelva Zoo, not twenty minutes ago. Time to put your skills to the ultimate test."
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Claire fussed for a bit as she helped Maisie buckle up. The young girl rolled her eyes at this, but Maisie was a smart kid. She knew that the reason Claire was fussing was that she was worried about what would happen now that they were rejoining civilization. If Maisie's secret got out…
"We're going to need a Paleo-Vet," Claire said, as the black van started up. "If we're going to be helping these animals, we're definitely going to need one."
"I suppose your going to want a technical support specialist as well," Mitchell said, chuckling. "Don't worry, my men are in the process of locating Miss Rodriguez and Mr. Webb as we speak."
There was a loud thump on the roof of the van.
"I hit that stupid branch on the way in, as well," Mitchell grumbled.
"We should also get a paleontologist," Claire said. "Owen and I know a lot, but nobody knows everything. We had sixteen on staff at Jurassic World."
"Who do you want?" Mitchell demanded. "Jack Horner? Sarah Harding? Alan Grant? Robert Bakker?"
"Alan Grant?" Owen wondered, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "You can get Grant?"
"Done," Mitchell said, pulling out his cell phone.
"I don't know," Claire said. "The failure of the first Park pretty much soured Dr. Grant on all things In-Gen and living dinosaur related. Plus those people who kidnapped him in 2001…"
"Dr. Grant is actually easier to get than you might think," Mitchell said. "He's one of the only paleontologists still invested in digging up fossil beds. And you can imagine how little money there is in that."
"You like Dr. Grant?" Maisie asked Owen.
"I am…a fan…" Owen admitted.
"He's being modest," Claire said, elbowing Owen.
Owen sighed. "Dr. Grant was the one who inspired me to apply for the job at Jurassic World. I've been a fan of his since I was a kid. He's also what made me interested in Raptors specifically, since that was Dr. Grant's specialty."
"Have you ever met him?" Maisie asked.
"Once," Owen said, smiling. "When I was a kid. It was before he went to Jurassic Park though…"
"We'll be in San Huelva in 45 minutes," Mitchell said hanging up his cell phone. Dr. Grant should actually beat us there. He was attending a lecture in San Diego, which is about 30 minutes from San Heulva. Your friends Dr. Rodriguez and Mr. Webb will be joining us shortly afterwards, they were recently arrested at an illegal restaurant in southern California."
"They were WHAT?" Claire demanded.
"As I understand it, the restaurant was going to serve dinosaur to its wealthy customers, and your friends were sabotaging the restaurant. You can go over the details with them later. After all, that's the kind of thing I want your team dealing with on a long term basis."
"Really?" Owen asked, suspiciously.
"This wasn't an easy sell to my bosses, most of whom were interested in simply killing any dinosaurs that they came across. But I think that my way is better, and less of a PR disaster in the making. Provided that you can prove me right. This T. rex is your chance to do that."
"Has she eaten anybody?" Maisie asked. Mitchell frowned.
He hesitated for a moment, but then shook his head.
"No, she hasn't. No people—all of whom have been evacuated from the zoo—and no animals either."
"That's…different," Owen said.
"You're the dinosaur behaviorist," Mitchell said. "You tell me what's going on."
"Can't know until we see her," Owen replied darkly.
"You're not going to hurt her, are you?" Maisie asked.
"As long as it hasn't killed anyone," Mitchell responded, "Then you don't have to kill it. One human death though…"
He let it hang.
"So this is more than just a trial run for our 'team'." Owen surmised. "This is a rescue op, for Rexy."
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San Huelva Zoo, San Huelva California
Mitchell's van pulled into the parking lot, where a dour looking man wearing a leather Stetson hat and comfortable clothing scowled at them.
Owen exited the van first and approached him almost excitedly, as Claire hung back and helped Maisie out.
"Doctor Grant," Owen said. "It's…It's an honor sir. I-um-I—My name is Owen Grady."
"I know who you are," Grant said, curtly.
"You…do?" Owen squeaked.
Grant nodded. "Simon Masrani sent me all of your video documentaries regarding the raising of the Velociraptors."
"He…He did?" Owen said. "I…did not know he did that."
"He funded my 2009-2012 dig seasons," Grant said. "On the condition that I review your video footage and share my opinions. I was honest with him, but he seemed to appreciate that. For the record, I thought you were crazy."
"Oh," Owen said meekly.
"However…My specialty his always been Raptors, and in particular I'd been trying to learn as much as I can about Raptor vocalization and language. And…your research was incredibly valuable. From your videos alone, I learned 27 key vocalizations in the Velociraptor vocal lexicon. Something I never would have if not for your work."
Owen only stared at the aged paleontologist in stunned silence.
"Thank you, Mr. Grady," Grant said, holding out his hand.
"Um…um…you're welcome!" Owen took Grant's hand and shook it vigorously.
"And yet you never came to the island?" Claire wondered.
"Once was enough," Grant said.
There was an awkward silence for a moment.
"Speaking of which…why was I dragged away from my lecture on Allosaurus nesting sites?" Grant asked.
"You might have heard that some of the Nublar dinosaurs have gotten loose here in California," Owen said.
"I had gotten wind of that, yes," Grant said dryly, recalling the panicked phone calls that every paleontologist within 100 miles of California had gotten 8 weeks previous."
"Well," Owen started to say.
"HUN-HUR-RRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" Came the distinctive roar of the Tyrannosaurus rex from within the zoo behind them. The vehicles shook, and Grant suddenly went pale.
"No!" Grant said. "I will not be part of your dinosaur clean-up crew. You made this mess, YOU clean it up."
"Please," Claire said, suddenly stepping forward. "This team…we're the beta-test. We have one chance to prove that we can save these animals. If we don't…then the government is just going to start shooting them."
"And they should," Grant said. "Dinosaurs and man are separated by 65 millions years of evolution. These animals will kill humans. Survival of the fittest, and if mankind is going to survive…"
"Doctor Grant," Claire said. "I know every person who donated to the Dinosaur Protection Group. I know full well that you don't want to see these animals die."
Grant sighed defeated. "Fine. I'll help. In whatever capacity you want. But for the record, it was my research assistant, he donated in my name."
"Of course he did," Claire said, patting Dr. Grant's back.
At that moment, a black SWAT van pulled up, and the doors slid open. A very confused looking Zia and Franklin were shoved out by a cranky looking police officer.
"Claire! Owen!" Zia said running over to her two friends and tackling them in a hug.
"You'll forgive me if I just shake your hand?" Franklin said to Owen as Zia released them.
"We thought for sure we were going to be locked up for good," Zia said.
"I pulled some strings," Mitchell said dryly.
"Yeah well, we're about to jump into the thick of things," Claire said. "The government has decided to organize a response to the dinosaurs."
"Oh that's good!" Franklin said. "It's about time. They've been sitting on their butts for two and a half months…"
"Dude," Zia said. "We're the response. The former Director of Operations for Jurassic World? Animal Behaviorist-slash-Raptor Trainer. Paleo-vet. Tech guy. This cranky old dude who looks like a paleontologist. It's us."
Grant side-eyed Zia, frowning.
"Oh crap," Franklin muttered.
"So," a new voice broke in. "Anyone want to explain to me why there's a T. rex running rampant around my zoo?"
The group turned their attention towards a brunette woman with bright eyes and khakis, in her mid-thirties, around Claire and Owen's age.
"How's she doing?" Zia demanded, turning towards the woman.
"The dinosaur is fine, as far as I can tell," the woman said, assessing the group. Finally her eyes locked onto Claire.
"You're the one in charge of these yahoos?" she asked.
"I guess I am," Claire said, ten years of Take-Charge-Park-Management suddenly taking over. "Claire Dearing. Dinosaur Protection Group."
"Dinosaur…Protection Group?"
Claire swallowed.
"Jessica Harding, Head of San Huelva Zoo Operations," Jess replied after a beat. "What are you guys going to do about that T. rex?"
"She hasn't killed anyone?" Owen asked.
"No," Jess said. "She busted into the Lion enclosure and got into a roaring match with our lions, before eventually getting bored, and began wandering around the zoo. Fortunately, we were able to evacuate the zoo before she got bored."
"How many animals has she eaten then?" Grant wondered.
"None so far," Jess replied.
"None?" Claire, Owen, Zia, Franklin, and Grant all asked in unison.
"I can show you the security feeds in the office," Jess said, pointing towards the door in the brick wall next to the ticket entrance.
The group followed her.
"I have to check in with my superiors," Mitchell said, pulling out his cell phone. "Remember what's at stake here, Miss Dearing, Mr. Grady."
Jess, Owen, Claire, Maisie, Zia, Franklin, and Alan Grant piled into the security office, Several CCTV screens showing the zoo could be seen on the wall.
"I turned on the zoo trains," Jess said. "I'm hoping that the movement of the trains would distract her from the animals, but so far, she hasn't gone after the trains."
"You seem rather familiar with this animal," Grant noticed.
"Dr. Grant," Jess said. "You're not the only survivor from the first park standing in this room. My father is Gerry Harding, the first Paleo-veterinarian. I was on Nublar at the same time you were. Yes, I'm familiar with her."
Grant nodded and placed an arm on Jess's shoulder.
"This is definitely her hunting behavior," Grant said, watching the Tyrannosaur stalking down the zoo pathway. "I've seen it before."
"Me too," Owen, Claire, and Jess all chimed in.
"But she hasn't eaten any animals?" Maisie wondered. "I mean…there's nothing keeping her from snacking on a giraffe or zebra or whatever…So…Why hasn't she."
"She's been wandering around the Mountain Animal exhibit for hours, now," Jess said. "In a kind of holding pattern."
"Mountain exhibit?" Owen said.
Jess flipped a switch and the camera angle changed, showing several nervous mountain goats hopping from ledge to ledge on a giant artificial mountain.
"Goats!" Owen, Claire, and Zia said in dawning realization.
"Excuse me?" Grant asked.
"It's Rexy!" Owen said, slapping his forehead. "The original T. rex. She LOVES goats."
"They're her absolute favorite food," Claire said. "Everyone at the park knew just how much Rexy loved goats. She'd do just about anything for a goat. She once busted down the wall of her enclosure in order to break into the paddock next to hers, solely to steal her neighbor's goats."
"That poor Carnotaurus never got over that," Owen said. "She was always on guard ever since that event. Gobbling down her food seconds after it arrived, afraid Rexy would come back and take it from her again."
"Rexy's love of eating goats was kind of infamous on the island," Zia said. "She'd rather have goat than Parasaurolophus, Gallimimus, or even humans. That's how Vic Hoskins and his team recaptured her. Used goats to herd her into her new paddock. No tranquilizers or anything."
"It's just like Styggy!" Maisie said. "Rexy's scared, she's in a new environment, she's looking for something familiar to comfort her. In this case, she wants her favorite food to make her feel better."
Owen beamed with pride at Maisie. "You're absolutely right, kiddo."
"She can't get at the mountain goats," Grant observed. "The concrete moat is too big for even her to step over."
"Mountain goats are climbers," Jess said. "There's no point in an enclosure that they could just climb out of."
"Sooner or later, 'Rexy' is going to realize that she can't have the mountain goats." Grant said. "When she eventually gives up, she's going to look for easier prey."
"So we have a small window," Owen said. "And I think I have an idea…We do like Hoskins did."
"What?" Jess asked.
"Two questions Miss Harding," Owen said. "One…Do you have a petting zoo?"
"Oh you can't be serious!" Jess said.
"Rexy doesn't know about the petting zoo goats," Owen said. "Or she'd be after them instead of these mountain goats. So we have bait. Do you have a place we can put her?"
Jess blinked.
"What?" she said.
"An enclosure, a paddock, something, somewhere in the zoo we can trap Rexy after we use the goats to bait her." Owen said.
"You can't be serious," Jess said.
"Dead serious," Owen said. "Out in the wild, Rexy's a danger to everyone. She'll end up getting shot or worse. But in a zoo, with goats to eat every day…She'll be happy and safe."
"We can't afford to keep feeding her goats every day!" Jess exclaimed. "We're a smaller zoo! We don't pull in the same numbers that the San Diego Zoo does."
"You will once you have a T. rex," Claire pointed out.
"The only zoo in the world with a T. rex," Owen emphasized.
This thought had clearly never occurred to Jess before. She stood there, contemplating for a moment.
"We built an enclosure last year for African Elephants," Jess said. "It's large, and has a big concrete moat. Rexy shouldn't be able to step over the moat, though she could probably bust down the back wall, with some effort. It's meant to hold 4-ton elephants, not 9-ton Tyrannosaurs. We never did get the African Elephants. Our guy in Africa kept getting outbid at the livestock auctions. We've got a pretty tight budget."
"Not for much longer," Owen said. "Franklin, take over the CCTV system. You're going to be our eyes and ears in the zoo. Zia, Claire, Dr. Grant, we're going to get those petting zoo goats, and we're going to line em' up on a path directing into the loading gate for the Elephant exhibit, like a trail of bleating breadcrumbs. Miss Harding, I need you to make sure that the loading gate is open when Rexy gets there, and closed when she's inside."
"We'll have to put most of the goats in the enclosure," Claire said. "Or Rexy won't stay in long enough to close the loading gate."
"And if she busts down the back walls?" Jess wondered.
"She won't attempt that right away, if she's got plenty of food and water," Owen said. "And we can have those walls reinforced once she's inside."
"What do you want me to do?" Maisie asked.
"You're going to stick with me, kid," Franklin said. "Two sets of eyes watching the screens, in case there's trouble."
Maisie pouted.
"Sorry Maisie," Owen said, pulling her into a hug. "Rexy's a lot more dangerous than Styggy. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you on my watch. And you can definitely still help us this way."
"Okay," Maisie said.
"Let's go guys," Owen said, turning towards the others. "Like Grant said…Rexy won't be hunting those mountain goats forever…Let's make sure she doesn't find a new favorite food."
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"I'm thinking that you really just wanted to ride the zoo train," Claire said, as Owen loaded a goat off of the bed of a pickup truck and onto one of the passenger cars of the zoo train. Owen gave her a look.
"Sorry," she said. "I was just trying to lighten the mood…"
"Whoever drives the train is in the most dangerous position," Owen said.
"And it's going to be me," Zia said, climbing into the cab of the train.
"Zia," Claire started to say.
"Nope," Zia said. "You're not talking me out of this one, Rexy's life is at stake."
"Be careful," Owen said. "Come on Gretel, we've got more bread crumbs to set up."
Owen led another goat over to a nearby drinking fountain, and loosely tied its leash around the fountain, and then saluted Zia. Claire nodded, climbing into the pickup truck with the goats and driving after Owen.
"Okay," Franklin said over the radio. "I'm starting up the zoo train. The track goes right past the mountain goat exhibit, and then into a tunnel."
"No way Rexy won't see me," Zia said as the tiny train started up.
It began to huff forward winding it's way through the zoo. As it passed by the mountain goat enclosure, Zia could see Rexy circling the pen, trying to figure out some way of getting across the moat and to the tasty goats inside, but was clearly having no success.
"Come on girl," Zia whispered as the train chugged past. Zia could see the tunnel thirty feet away. The goat in the back of the train suddenly saw the tyrannosaur, and be began bleating in panic.
Rexy paused, suddenly looking up, and seeing the zoo train.
She opened her maw and let out an earth-shattering roar, before charging towards the zoo train.
Too late. The train had entered the tunnel. Rexy snapped furiously and desperately attempting to force her way into the too-small tunnel. It wasn't happening. But the Tyrannosaur was on alert now. It knew that there were other goats in the zoo. Looking regretfully at the mountain goats, Rexy turned and began stalking down the zoo streets, in full hunting mode.
"Rexy's on the move," Franklin said. "Heading towards Big Cat country. Which is where Zia will come out of the tunnel."
"Wh-kzzzt?" Zia's voice came over the radio. "I can't-Kzzzt. Fzzzt1*"
"I guess the tunnel is blocking radio signals," Franklin said.
"What is that?" Maisie asked suddenly, pointing towards the screen.
Franklin frowned. There was something large moving around on the platform by the zoo train station in big cat country. A second therapod dinosaur.
The Carnotaurus was sniffing around.
"Oh crap!" Franklin said. "Zia! ZIA! There's a Carnotaurus at the far end of the tunnel! ZIA! She can't hear me. Shoot, shoot, shoot…"
Franklin heard the door to the security office slam behind him.
"Claire's going to feed me to the T. rex herself," Franklin swallowed.
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There was a bicycle that had been abandoned by the entrance of the zoo. Maisie had appropriated it, and was now pedaling furiously through the zoo, skidding to a halt near the exit to the tunnel. She could hear the zoo train coming, and so could the Carnotaurus, who was now curiously inclining her head towards the tunnel.
"ZIA! LOOK OUT!" Maisie yelled.
Zia heard Maisie's cry just in time. She scrambled out of the cab and towards the back of the train just as the train came out of the tunnel. The Carnotaurus snarled and slammed its bony skull into the train. The train continued forward, and the Carnotaurus backed up, and rammed the train with full force. The entire zoo train was suddenly derailed. The panicked goat clambered out of the seat it had been stranded on.
The Carnotaurus noticed and immediately lunged at the goat, clamping its jaws down on the mammal and gobbling it down as fast as it could. Zia was trying to crawl out from the overturned zoo train without attracting the Carno's attention.
Which wasn't working. The Carnotaurus used its head to knock one of the zoo cars away, and slowly approached Zia, clearly intent on making the paleo-vet her second course.
Zia closed her eyes and waited.
"SKRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" came the sound of a different therapod. A slate-gray Velociraptor with blue stripes along its back suddenly leapt seemingly from nowhere onto the Carnotaurus's back, and began furiously clawing at and scratching the Albieosaur.
The Carnotaurus was suddenly panicking, and definitely upset that its meal had been interrupted.
"Blue?" Zia wondered as Maisie ran to her side.
"I think it is," Maisie said.
The Carnotaurus was making a lot of noise, and the ground was starting to shake. The larger dinosaur shook Blue off of her head. The Raptor jumped down and onto the side of the upturned train. The Carnotaurus panicked, and turned and ducked into the tunnel, which—unlike Rexy—She could fit into just fine.
Blue turned towards Zia and Maisie, leaping down and letting out four sharp raptor barks and a low clicking sound.
"Thank you?" Zia said, looking at Blue in surprise. She felt confident that Blue didn't intend to attack either of them, but was unsure as to why, or where the raptor had even come from.
"Oh crap the goats!" Zia exclaimed. The two dinosaurs fighting had panicked the trail of tied up goats, several of them had broken free and were scattering. If they didn't stay in a straight path, Rexy wouldn't follow them. The plan was doomed.
Blue turned her head in the direction Zia was looking. Seeing the goats scatter, Blue darted towards the nearest goat and hissed in its face. Panicking, the goat turned in the opposite direction and ran down the street, right into Rexy's waiting jaws.
The Tyrannosaur effortlessly scooped the goat up into her mouth and swallowed it whole. Zia and Maisie froze, Zia taking a slightly defensive stance in front of Maisie, though both realized that this was a token effort. They couldn't go into the tunnel where the Carnotaurus had fled, and if Rexy decided that they were as good as goats…
Blue sprung into action, darting forward she hissed at another goat, scaring it out of the bushes and back onto the path that Owen and Claire had lain out.
Rexy ignored the two humans and the Raptor. She had eyes for only one thing. Those goats were hers. She stormed forward and scooped the new goat up, swallowing it whole again.
Then she spotted another one, still tied to a tree. In a heartbeat, Rexy lunged again, and scooped the goat up into her mouth.
Zia, Maisie, and Blue tentatively followed the tyrannosaur and a cautious distance, each of them far too curious to see if their plan was working. If Rexy turned around, none of them could get away from her in time…
But Rexy didn't turn around.
Every 500 feet there was a goat tied to a drinking fountain, or tree, or zoo statue. And Rexy followed each one, scooping it up in her jaws and swallowing it whole.
Then they came to the loading gate for the unused elephant paddock. Rexy's jaw actually dropped.
There were about 30 goats milling about inside of the pen. The Tyrannosaurus's eyes lit up and she barreled through the gate towards the nearest goat. The doors of the paddock began closing, slowly. Several goats attempted to escape through the closing doors. Blue shot forward and hissed at them. They turned around immediately. The door finished closing, and there was a loud locking sound.
Rexy suddenly looked up, and around. There was a goat still in her mouth, but she stopped chewing. She approached the wall of the enclosure, and gently put her weight against it. It buckled slightly, but didn't actually yield.
She gave a half-chew of the goat in her mouth, and then walked over to the concrete moat, 50 feet wide, longer than her own body-length. She couldn't step over that.
Another half-chew as she walked over to the farthest wall, and leaned up against it as well.
Once again, it buckled, but didn't yield.
Rexy finished chewing and swallowed her goat.
She calmly walked over to the waterfall and elephant-sized wading pool at the far end of the enclosure, and took a long, satisfying drink from the water.
She casually snapped up another goat, and then waded into the water, sank down so that she was resting half-in half-out of the water, closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh.
The remaining 16 goats congregated on the far end of the enclosure, as far away from Rexy as they possibly could. Rexy opened one eye, looked at them, sighed again, and closed her eye.
"Yes!" Zia and Maisie said excitedly.
Blue let out a series of triumphant sounding raptor barks, startling Zia and Maisie, who had been so enraptured by Rexy, they'd forgotten that Blue was right next to them.
"I don't believe it," Jess Harding said as she, Grant, Claire, and Owen exited the control room for the elephant pen doors. "I can't believe that worked!"
"And now you have the only T. rex in captivity in the country," Owen said. "Let's see the Cincinnati Zoo top…."
Owen trailed off, suddenly seeing who was standing next to Zia and Maisie.
"Blue?" Owen whispered.
At the sound of her name, Blue let out a series of four sharp raptor barks followed by a low clicking sound.
"I don't believe it!" Grant said. He suddenly reached into his fanny-pack and pulled out a small gray piece of plaster. He pressed it to his lips and mimicked the sound that Blue had just made.
This seemed to make Blue deliriously happy, as she began letting out a low purr, casually hopping over to Owen, and nuzzling her Alpha.
"What was that?" Zia wondered.
"When Blue saw us," Grant said, his voice almost a whisper. "She greeted us with the vocalization call for recognizing a pack member. The same cry she used to use whenever she would greet her sisters, or Owen."
"She thinks we're her pack?" Maisie asked.
"I don't think that she was sure," Grant said, cautiously approaching the raptor. He'd never been this close to an adult raptor without it trying to kill him before. His mind was immediately soaking her in, trying to take in every last detail of the specimen before him.
Blue responded by nudging Grant with her snout and purring.
"I don't think that she was sure," Grant repeated. "Until I replied with the same greeting. I think…I think she was hoping to join Owen's new 'pack', but didn't know if she was accepted."
"You're always accepted with me, Blue," Owen said, holding out his hand. Blue pressed her snout against his hand, and continued to purr.
"Let's get her some food," Owen said.
"Yeah," Jess marveled at the Raptor. "I can get some of the meat we use to feed the lions. No problem."
"Welcome to the pack, Blue," Owen said.
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Mitchell entered an observation lounge for the newly christened Tyrannosaur Enclosure.
The room was clearly designed for zookeepers on break. There was a fridge, a small kitchen, a couch, a foosball table, and a plasma TV on one wall. A large thick glass observation window showed the interior of the paddock, though the waterfall, which could be turned off and on from the lounge, obscured it. Rexy continued to nap in the small lagoon beneath the artificial waterfall.
Grant, Owen, Zia, Claire, Maisie, and Jess all stood around room. Zia was playing foosball with Maisie, while Franklin watched.
Grant, Owen, Claire, and Jess were discussing Blue, who was currently in a different empty paddock, enjoying a meal of her own.
"My bosses are impressed," Mitchell said. "Capturing the tyrannosaur has convinced them that your team is the key to keeping the public safe from the roaming dinosaurs. Congratulations. You earned this."
"With your permission," Owen said. "We'd like to make this zoo our home base of operations. Director Harding here has agreed to it."
"I think that can be arranged," Mitchell nodded. "I'll be back soon with your next assignments. Good day, ladies and gentlemen."
"You didn't mention Blue?" Franklin asked.
"I will," Owen said. "I want to get Blue settled before introducing her to someone new. As far as Blue's concerned, the people standing in this room are her pack. No one else."
"I'm less concerned about Blue," Zia said. "And more concerned about that Carnotaurus. It never came out of the tunnel, but Franklin sent a drone in and…"
"Nothing," Franklin said. "It vanished into thin air."
"It had to have come out somewhere," Grant said.
"If she was in that tunnel, my drone would have spotted her," Franklin said.
"Then where did it go?" Maisie wondered.
"We'll figure it out," Owen said.
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Ajay Sidhu Memorial Game Preserve, South Africa.
An imposing, sharp-figured man stepped out onto the balcony of his lodge and stretched, soaking in the glorious African sunrise.
He smiled to himself as a dozen giraffes darted away from the waters of the river that cut through his property. He assumed that a crocodile had taken a swipe at one of the animals.
Suddenly, a gigantic dark red crocodile-like dinosaur with a fin on it's back, burst out of the water of the river, an actual Nile crocodile wriggling helplessly in its jaws.
The hunter blinked.
"Well that's different," he muttered.
To be continued…